Why is Immigration Reform
Important for Business?
Immigration reform is good for the US economy:
Immigration reform, including a path to citizenship for the
undocumented, would generate $1.5 trillion in economic gains
for the US over the next ten years. Mass deportation, in
contrast, could cost the US economy $2.6 trillion.
Undocumented immigrants make up 5% of the metro Chicago
workforce, and seek work at higher rates (90%) than the
general Chicago area population (67%).
Deporting all undocumented immigrants would cost Illinois
$11.4 billion in economic output, and nearly 120,000 jobs.
Immigration reform means more consumer spending:
Immigrants who gained legal status under the 1986
Immigration Reform and Control Act earned an average of 15%
more after five years—enabling them to spend more and
invest in their long-term future in the US.
Source: Center for American Progress and
American Immigration Council, Raising the Floor
for American Workers: The Economic Benefits of
Comprehensive Immigration Reform (2010)
Consumer spending by undocumented immigrants in the Chicago area already generates more than
31,000 jobs in the local economy and adds $5.45 billion annually to the gross regional product.
The purchasing power of Illinois Latinos totaled $43.0 billion in 2009, while Asian buying power totaled
$23.2 billion—both figures rose around 350% since 1990.
Immigration reform means more tax revenue:
Immigration reform would generate $48 billion in additional federal tax revenue over the next ten
years.
About 70% of Chicago’s undocumented workers already pay payroll taxes. Nationally, undocumented
workers pay $7 billion each year into Social Security, accounting for $586 billion in Social Security
“suspense” accounts.
Immigration reform means a reliable legal workforce and even playing field:
Legalizing immigrant workers would protect honest employers from being undercut by unscrupulous
competitors seeking to drive down wages by hiring undocumented workers.
Immigration reform would also assure employers that our workers are legally authorized, and would
not be subject to raids or enforcement actions.
Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
55 E. Jackson Blvd. Suite 2075 - Chicago, IL 60604 – Phone: 312.332.7360 - www.icirr.org
Sources
Center for American Progress and American Immigration Council, Raising the Floor for American Workers: The Economic
Benefits of Comprehensive Immigration Reform (2010)
Center for Urban Economic Development, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago's Undocumented Immigrants: An Analysis
of Wages, Working Conditions, and Economic Contributions (2002)
The Perryman Group, An Essential Resource: An Analysis of the Economic Impact of Undocumented Workers on Business
Activity in the US with Estimated Effects by State and by Industry (2008)
Selig Center for Economic Growth, University of Georgia, The Multicultural Economy 2009 (2009)
Immigration Policy Center, The Economics of Immigration Reform (2009)
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate: Senate Amendment 1150 to S. 1348, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform
Act of 2007 (2007)
“Illegal Immigrants Are Bolstering Social Security With Billions,” New York Times, April 5, 2005
Inspector General Statement on the Social Security Administration’s Major Management Challenges (2007)
Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
55 E. Jackson Blvd. Suite 2075 - Chicago, IL 60604 – Phone: 312.332.7360 - www.icirr.org